Browse Topic: Crash prevention

Items (87)

Silicon Valley Summit Identifies Safety Strategies for Self-driving Cars

20AVEP01_1101/01/2020

AV industry leaders pinpointed several effective tactics, such as limiting vehicle speeds and empowering safety operators to ground vehicles. Until recently, leading autonomous vehicle (AV) technologists posited that ultra-safe, go-anywhere robotaxis would soon be on the road. But questions about those timelines-and the safety of testing AVs on public roads-emerged in 2018 after a series of high-profile accidents. Consumers have since been caught in the middle between promises of eliminating highway fatalities and reports about deadly crashes. The World Safety Summit on Autonomous Technology was organized by Velodyne Lidar to help clear up the confusion. The second annual event, which took place in Santa Clara, Calif., on Oct. 2, gathered some of the AV industry's sharpest thinkers. While attendees did not walk away from the day's speeches and panel sessions with a well-defined roadmap, the summit yielded several common-sense guidelines for increasing self-driving safety.

Berman, Bradley

19AVEP07_0207/01/2019

As the world turns to C-V2X, Europe picks WiFi Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications is a relatively straightforward and inexpensive technology that has the potential to reduce crashes by improving driver situational awareness. Compared to the automated-driving technology that most of the industry is rushing to develop, V2X is cheap and can even be retrofitted to existing vehicles. Yet despite these and other benefits, V2X has not yet been rolled out globally amid a new technology-standards battle.

Abuelsamid, Sam

Long-Term Evolution of Straight Crossing Path Crash Occurrence in the U.S. Fleet: The Potential of Intersection Active Safety Systems

2019-01-102304/02/2019

Intersection collisions currently account for approximately one-fifth of all crashes and one-sixth of all fatal crashes in the United States. One promising method of mitigating these crashes and fatalities is to develop and install Intersection Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (I-ADAS) on vehicles. When an intersection crash is imminent, the I-ADAS system can either warn the driver or apply automated braking. The potential safety benefit of I-ADAS has been previously examined based on real-world cases drawn from the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCCS). However, these studies made the idealized assumption of full installation in all vehicles of a future fleet. The objective of this work was to predict the reduction in Straight Crossing Path (SCP) crashes due to I-ADAS systems in the United States over time. The proportion of new vehicles with I-ADAS was modeled using Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) fleet penetration predictions. The number of potential SCP

Bareiss, Max, Gabler, H., Sherony, Rini

Application of Collision Probability Estimation to Calibration of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

2019-01-113304/02/2019

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are designed and calibrated rigorously to provide them with the robustness against highly uncertain environments that they usually operate in. Typical calibration procedures for such systems rely extensively on track (controlled environment) testing, which is time-consuming, expensive, and sometimes cannot cover all the critical test scenarios that could be encountered by ADAS in the real world. Therefore, virtual (simulation-based) testing and validation has been gaining more prominence and emphasis for ensuring high coverage along with easier scalability and usage. This paper attempts to provide an alternative approach for calibrating ADAS in the controller validation phase by the aid of simulated test case scenarios. The study executes characterization of the uncertainty in the position and heading of the ego and the obstacle vehicles. This exercise captures the uncertainties in the states detection of vehicles in the environment and

Bithar, Vivek, Karumanchi, Aditya

Research on the Model of Safety Boundary Condition Based on Vehicle Intersection Conflict and Collision

04/02/2019

Because of the high frequency and serious consequences of traffic accidents in the intersection area, it is of great significance to study the vehicle conflict and collision scenarios of the intersection area. Due to few actual crash accidents occurring in naturalistic driving studies data or field operational tests data, the data of traffic accident database should be also used to analyze the intersection conflict and collision. According to the China Field Operation Test (China-FOT) database and the China in Depth Accident Study (CIDAS) database, the distribution feature of the respective intersection scenario type is obtained from the data analysis. Based on the intersection scenario type, two characters of intersection conflict and collision, the environmental character and the vehicle dynamic character, are used to analyze for the integration process of intersection conflict and collision. The environmental character contains several parameters, including environment type, weather

Wu, Biao, Zhu, Xichan, Liao, Maozhu, Liu, Rui

Power Line Detection System for Unmanned Aircraft Systems

TBMG-3309810/01/2018

Electrical power lines pose a serious crash hazard to helicopters and other air-based vehicles, especially small aerial vehicles such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This is because power lines are so widespread, hard to see, and strung at roughly the same height above the ground at which these aircraft fly. In fact, according to one report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), power lines are the cause of roughly 5 percent of helicopter accidents. This statistic applies to both civilian and military cases. Another report found power-line collisions are responsible for 31 percent of accidents among agricultural aircraft. Fatalities and injuries occurred in many of these accidents.

Integration Strategy of Safety Systems - Status and Outlook

2016-01-149904/05/2016

On the way to automated driving, the installation rate of surround sensing systems will rapidly increase in the upcoming years. The respective technical progress in the areas of driver assistance and active safety leads to a numerous and valuable information and signals to be used prior to, during and even after an accident. Car makers and suppliers can make use of this new situation and develop integrated safety functions to further reduce the number of injured and even deaths in car accidents. Nevertheless, the base occupant safety remains the core of this integrated safety system in order to ensure at least a state-of-the-art protection even in vehicles including partial, high or full automation. Current networked safety systems comprehend a point-to-point connection between single components of active and safety systems. The optimal integration requires a much deeper and holistic approach. This paper and presentation describe current and future challenges and a clear strategy for

Klier, Willy, Lich, Thomas, D’Addetta, Gian Antonio, Freienstein, Heiko, Koehler, Armin, Reckziegel, Bastian, Yu, Zerong

The New Approach of In-Depth-Accident-Investigation based on the Methodology for Traffic Accident Database on Scenarios TADS

2016-01-147204/05/2016

Estimating the potential benefit of advanced safety systems by simulation has become increasingly important during the last years. All over the world OEMs and suppliers carry out benefit estimations by simulations via computer models. Such simulations should, of course, be based on real world scenario such as the pre-crash phase of real world accidents. Several methodologies for building up accident scenarios have been developed in the past. This paper shows a new method for generating pre-crash scenarios directly from the reconstruction of the accident by using the software PC-Crash1. The new method was developed by the Medical University Hannover (MHH) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation Dresden (Fraunhofer IVI). It is based on transferring all information (participant-, vehicle-, environment- and motion-data) from the reconstruction file into a scenario-database. In order to analyse the pre-crash situation of real-world accidents and changing boundary conditions (e.g

Otte, Dietmar, Urban, Martin, Johannsen, Heiko

Crash testing advances on many fronts

16MEIP03_1803/01/2016

Traffic fatalities have declined significantly over the last several years, but the U.S. is on track to have its deadliest year since 2007, according to the National Safety Council. That's shining the spotlight on crash testing, which helps automakers create the safest vehicles possible. Crash-testing research being done by testing groups and tool developers is extending its reach to crash avoidance. Some of the latest developments in collision avoidance and protection were recently explored by four industry experts in “The Future of Crash Testing” Technical Webinar Series from the Editors of SAE, which is now available for on-demand viewing.

Fleet Fatality Risk and its Sensitivity to Vehicle Mass Change in Frontal Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crashes, Using a Combined Empirical and Theoretical Model

2015-22-001111/09/2015

The objective of this study is to analytically model the fatality risk in frontal vehicle-to-vehicle crashes of the current vehicle fleet, and its sensitivity to vehicle mass change. A model is built upon an empirical risk ratio-mass ratio relationship from field data and a theoretical mass ratio-velocity change ratio relationship dictated by conservation of momentum. The fatality risk of each vehicle is averaged over the closing velocity distribution to arrive at the mean fatality risks. The risks of the two vehicles are summed and averaged over all possible crash partners to find the societal mean fatality risk associated with a subject vehicle of a given mass from a fleet specified by a mass distribution function. Based on risk exponent and mass distribution from a recent fleet, the subject vehicle mean fatality risk is shown to increase, while at the same time that for the partner vehicles decreases, as the mass of the subject vehicle decreases. The societal mean fatality risk, the

Shi, Yibing, Nusholtz, Guy S.

Methodologies for Verifying Memory Requirements for Aero-Embedded Systems

2012-01-213510/22/2012

The quality of an embedded application depends not only on how well it satisfies functional requirements but also on performance efficiency of the system. In embedded systems, non-functional requirements like memory requirements, play a very important role, and often impact significantly the embedded system's performance and overall cost of implementation. Embedded Systems usually have constrained resources like memory. Hence, choosing a correct method of verifying memory requirements is extremely critical. This Paper will give an overview of methodologies for performing different Memory Analyses to determine the correctness and consistency of memory requirements for airborne software and verifying efficient memory usage as required by the RTCA DO-178B guidelines. Different memory analyses methodologies like Memory Map Analysis, Stack Analysis and Heap Analysis are explained with current technology involved.

Raul, Vanchana, Orpe, Pranav

Japan - Large Storage Battery Installation Amendment

RS-BNA-JUN_12_1105/23/2012

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Fire and Disaster Management Agency, has amended regulations in regard to installation of large storage battery systems. The rule allows businesses to install such systems as part of regular buildings, such as office buildings and hospitals, if they meet specific standards. Under the previous regulations, storage battery systems using dangerous substances more than the specified quantities were only allowed if the entire building met the standards for dangerous facilities. The amended regulations provide greater flexibility and the storage battery systems can be installed in part of a regular building, such as a basement or a rooftop, under certain conditions. In addition, the rule requires dangerous facilities subject to the accident prevention plan requirement (e.g. specific facilities manufacturing, storing, or handling dangerous substances) to include in the plan measures for a possible tsunami. The regulation was adopted on May

Basilar Skull Fractures by Crash Type and Injury Source

2011-01-112604/12/2011

Purpose: This study investigates NASS-CDS data on basilar skull fractures by crash type and injury source for various crash scenarios to understand the injury risks, injury mechanisms and contact sources. Methods: 1993-2008 NASS-CDS data was used to study basilar skull fractures in adult front occupants by crash type and injury source. Injury risks were determined using weighted data for occupants with known injury status in 1994+ model year vehicles. In-depth analysis was made of far-side occupants in side impacts and rear crashes using the NASS electronic cases. Results: Basilar skull fractures occur in 0.507 ± 0.059% of rollovers and 0.255 ± 0.025% of side impacts. The lowest risk is in rear impacts at 0.015 ± 0.007%. The most common contact source is the roof, side rails and header (39.0%) in rollovers, the B-pillar (25.8%) in side impacts and head restraint (55.3%) in rear crashes. Seatbelt use significantly lowers the risk for basilar fracture from 1.77 ± 0.32% for unbelted to

Parenteau, Chantal, Viano, David C.

A Comparison Study on Head Injury Risk in Car-to-Pedestrian Collisions in Changsha and Hannover

2010-01-116704/12/2010

Vehicle traffic accidents have been extensively studied in various countries, but any differences in traffic accidents the studied areas have not yet been adequately investigated. This paper aims to make a comparison study of head injury risks and kinematics of adult pedestrian accidents in Changsha, China, and Hannover, Germany, as well as correlate calculated physical parameters with injuries observed in real-world accidents of the two cities. A total of 20 passenger cars versus adult pedestrian accidents were collected from the two areas of study, including 10 cases from Changsha and 10 cases from Hannover. Virtual accident reconstructions using PC-Crash and MADYMO software were performed. The in-depth study focused on head injury risks while kinematics were conducted using statistical approaches. The results of the analysis of the Chinese data were compared with those of the German data. The results indicated that differences regarding average head contact time, WAD, and scatter of

Chen, Yong, Yang, Jikuang, Otte, Dietmar

Target Population for Injury Reduction from Pre-Crash Systems

2010-01-046304/12/2010

Pre-Crash Systems (PCS) integrate the features of active and passive safety systems to reduce both crash and injury severity. Upon detection of an impending collision, PCS can provide an early warning to the driver and activate automatic braking to reduce the crash severity for the subject vehicle. PCS can also activate the seatbelt pretensioners prior to impact. This paper identifies the opportunities for injury prevention in crash types for which PCS can be potentially activated. These PCS applicable crash types include rear-end crashes, single vehicle crashes into objects (trees, poles, structures, parked vehicles), and head-on crashes. PCS can benefit the occupants of both the striking and struck vehicle. In this paper, the opportunity for injury reduction in the struck vehicle is also tabulated. The study is based upon the analysis of approximately 20,000 frontal crash cases extracted from NASS / CDS 1997-2008. Annually, there are an estimated 16,800 seriously injured occupants

Kusano, Kristofer, Gabler, H. Clay

A Study on Head Injury Risk in Car-to-Pedestrian Collisions Using FE-Model

2009-01-226306/09/2009

Head injury is quite frequently occurred in car-to-pedestrian collisions, which often places an enormous burden to victims and society. To address head protection and understand the head injury mechanisms, in-depth accident investigation and accident reconstructions were conducted. A total of 6 passenger-cars to adult-pedestrian accidents were sampled from the in-depth accident investigation in Changsha China. Accidents were firstly reconstructed by using Multi-bodies (MBS) pedestrian and car models. The head impact conditions such as head impact velocity; position and orientation were calculated from MBS reconstructions, which were then employed to set the initial conditions in the simulation of a head model striking a windshield using Finite Element (FE) head and windshield models. The intracranial pressure and stress distribution of the FE head model were calculated and correlated with the injury outcomes. Reconstruction results show that the coup/contre-coup pressure, Von Mises

Chen, Yong, Yang, Jikuang, Xu, Wei, Yang, Jikuang, Xu, Wei

Emergency Portability of Slide/Rafts

ARP5252 (Historical)01/18/2007

This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) recommends design features for facilitating relocation of portable slide/rafts for deployment at an alternate exit under ditching conditions.

S-9A Safety Equipment and Survival Systems Committee

Vaporization of JP-8 Jet Fuel in a Simulated Aircraft Fuel Tank Under Varying Ambient Conditions

2006-01-244508/30/2006

This study has been performed to aid in the effort to minimize the possibility of a fuel tank explosion in a commercial aircraft. An understanding of the mechanisms behind fuel vaporization processes in an aircraft fuel tank is essential to developing accident prevention techniques. An experiment was designed to measure the conditions existing within a heated aluminum fuel tank, partially filled with JP-8 jet fuel, under varying ambient conditions similar to those encountered by an in-flight aircraft. Comprehensive fuel tank data, including all temperatures, pressure, and ullage hydrocarbon concentration, was obtained during testing, and is available for use to validate heat and mass transfer calculations. An existing engineering model was employed in this work to calculate ullage temperature and ullage fuel vapor concentration in the tank and compare with measured values, to explain the transport processes occurring in the tank during testing, and to estimate the flammability of the

Ochs, Robert I., Polymeropoulos, Constantine E.

Volvo ‘bags’ unique safety technology

AUTOJUL06_0507/01/2006

The C70 retractable hardtop uses vertically deploying curtain airbags to provide added open-top passenger safety. Very few auto manufacturers would have the nerve to introduce their newest model by involving it in a spectacular crash. But that is how Volvo showed off its new C70 folding hardtop convertible. Because the words “Volvo” and “safety” go together, the company wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of its safety systems, particularly a new vertically deploying curtain airbag. In the 1970s, with the drive for automotive safety still in first gear but propelled by a powerful lobby, the future for convertible cars looked distinctly doubtful; a total legislated ban seemed increasingly likely. Airbag technology was in its infancy, rollover bars were not generally in use, and even the most avid supporters of soft tops had to admit that they were potentially more dangerous than their hardtop counterparts. As for body structure, crashworthiness and torsional rigidity were almost

Delivering greater safety at lower cost

AUTOMAY06_1005/01/2006

TRW Occupant Safety Systems' top engineer discusses product development challenges as safety systems suppliers race to out-innovate and out-integrate their competitors while they outpace future legislation and constantly reduce cost. Doug Campbell was looking remarkably fresh for someone who had started the day more than 20 hours earlier in Tokyo. It was mid-afternoon at TRW's Occupant Safety Systems headquarters north of Detroit, and Campbell, the Vice President of Engineering, still had hours of meetings ahead of him before quitting time. “I'm used to the constant travel,” said Campbell. “It goes along with demand for our products from global customers. What we as safety-systems suppliers-and by ‘we’ I mean the industry as a whole-have achieved in the last 20 years has been unbelievable.”

Brooke, Lindsay

Thoracic Injury Investigation using PMHS in Frontal Airbag Out-of-Position Situations

2005-22-001511/09/2005

Many studies have reported multiple rib fractures sustained by an Out-of-Position (OOP) driver subjected to a frontal airbag deployment, but the injury mechanisms and thresholds remain unclear. Two successive phases occur during the bag deployment: punch-out loading of the thorax, followed by a membrane effect (Horsch et al. 1990). The aim of this study was to investigate the thoracic injuries generated by each phase separately. Tests of nine post-mortem human surrogates (PMHS) were carried out on a static test bench using a driver side airbag module described by Petit et al. (2003). The steering wheel was replaced by a plate in order to increase the loading generated by the airbag. Three loading configurations were performed: membrane only, punch-out only, and both types combined. The membrane-only tests were performed with the thorax initially positioned at 13, 78 and 128 mm from the plate in order to vary the load magnitude. The punch-out and the combined tests were performed with

Lebarbé, Matthieu, Potier, Pascal, Baudrit, Pascal, Petit, Philippe, Trosseille, Xavier, Vallancien, Guy

Vehicle Acceleration and Compartment Intrusion for Far-Sided Occupants v. Near-Sided Occupants in Frontal Offset Collisions

2003-01-015903/03/2003

Vehicle acceleration and compartment intrusion play major roles in occupant injury causation, in frontal offset collisions. The knowledge of injury causation may enable the injury risk to be directly assessed from accident conditions, once a relationship between accident conditions and vehicle response is known. To establish such a relationship, a simulation study was carried out, in which vehicle acceleration and local compartment intrusion were calculated for various crash speeds and overlap configurations. The simulation model was validated against crash-tests in terms of the local vehicle deformation, acceleration and local dash and toepan intrusion. It was found that average acceleration generally decreased with reduced overlap, while intrusion increased for narrower overlap and impact locations more closely to the dash and/or toepan. This general trend indicates the relatively high injury risk for near-side occupants and a low risk for far-side occupants. Far-side, low-overlap

Jewkes, Dagmar Buzeman

AMPS, Skidmarks and ITS: Managing Merging to Improve Safety and Traffic Flow

2002-01-076003/04/2002

The genesis of the AMPS (Absent-Minded Professor Syndrome) Theory in presentations in Detroit, Paris, Seoul and Torino is reviewed. A ‘rappel’ is issued on the empirical relationship between the numbers of fatalities, PI's and ‘fender-benders’ and thus, by extension, ‘near-misses’ (as ‘recorded’ by skidmarks). Data on skidmark incidence from expressways in Australia, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Canada are analyzed using the AMPS theory. Observations on roads around the world (U.S.A., Korea, Japan and India as well as Denmark, France and Austria) and data on accident location (Verkehrspolizeiinspektion Ingolstadt) strongly support the detailed analysis. The author concludes that this evidence on ‘near-misses’ presents an opportunity to use ITS to substantially cut expressway ‘accidents’ by ‘managed merging’ at expressway entrance points.

Gullon, A. C. “Al”

Artificial Intelligence, Real-Time, In-Situ Profiling System (AIRTIPS) A Concept of Real-Time, Routine In-Flight Monitoring and Assessment of Risk

2001-01-266209/11/2001

Sutton, Robert W.

Safety benefits of improvements in vehicle design since the introduction of the ANCAP crash test program

2001-06-021806/04/2001

The Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has for several years funded research at the Road Accident Prevention Research Unit at the University of Western Australia aimed at quantifying the value of reducing injuries by improving vehicle safety design. An injury cost database was developed using claims data from the Motor Accidents Authority of NSW (MAA) and additional cost data from other sources. These costs were used together with the measurements from the test instruments in the ANCAP crash tests to estimate the cost of injuries to front seat occupants in the ANCAP-tested vehicles. The aim of this study was to use the injury cost information from this previous research to estimate the safety benefits of improvements in vehicle design in cars entering the passenger vehicle fleet in Western Australia since the introduction of the ANCAP crash test program in 1992. The results of the study show significant safety benefits from the design and equipment changes introduced in new

Hendrie, Delia, Lyle, Greg, Haley, Jack

The Vision of a Comprehensive Safety Concept

2001-06-025206/04/2001

A look at the various past achievements in the field of passenger car safety raises the question whether any dramatic steps towards its improvement can still be expected. Will progress be confined to the optimization of existing systems or does the future hold new substantial safety steps? This paper elaborates on the issue that the time available before a potential accident occurs can be used to improve the safety of occupants and other involved road users. Accident analysis confirms that this is feasible for about two-thirds of all accidents. The recognition of an imminent collision bears a noteworthy potential for accident prevention, reduction of accident severity and injury severity. The former boundary between active and passive safety thus fades continually. Based upon this it is possible to describe vehicle safety by a comprehensive approach encompassing seven escalation levels. This approach underscores the future intention of Mercedes-Benz to increasingly embrace preventive

Baumann, Karl-Heinz, Sch\arneburg, Rodolfo, Justen, Rainer

Rollover of Heavy Commercial Vehicles

RR-00404/19/2000

Rollover accidents are of special concern for commercial vehicle safety. The relatively low roll stability of the commercial truck promotes rollover and contributes to the number of truck accidents and injuries. This Research Report takes an in-depth look at the mechanics and contributing factors to rollover accidents and helps to identify prevention strategies.

Winkler, Christopher B., Blower, Daniel, Ervin, Robert D., Chalasani, Rao M.

Safety — An Essential Ingredient for Profitability, Managing Safety and Profitability in Airline Operations

2000-01-212404/11/2000

Accidents and serious incidents are major cost factors in companies that have high consequence operations. Aviation, though having a very favorable safety level, still faces huge liabilities when accidents or serious incidents occur. This paper will argue that safety should be regarded by management as a core production value, just as other products of the company are. Examples will be drawn from the worldwide industry that show the value of low accident operation. The FSF’s ICARUS committee’s work will also be described that presents persuasive arguments for establishing aviation company cultures that place high value on accident avoidance and reduction of risk. Returns in passenger confidence and respect for the air company that translate into ridership are only part of the profit picture. Reductions of employee injuries and fatalities, reduced damage to aircraft during ground operations have heavy positive leverage on the company’s profitability. Investments by management in

Matthews, Stuart

Estimation of Crash Injury Severity Reduction for Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems

2000-01-135403/06/2000

A novel methodology is presented to estimate the safety benefits of intelligent vehicle safety systems in terms of reductions in the number of collisions and the number and severity of crash-related injuries. In addition, mathematical models and statistics are provided to support the estimation of the crash injury reduction factor in rear-end, lane change, and single vehicle roadway departure collisions. Simple models based on Newtonian mechanics are proposed to derive Δv, the change in speed that a vehicle undergoes as a consequence of crashing. Statistics on the distribution of vehicle types and weights in the United States are supplied, which are needed for Δv estimation. Moreover, mathematical equations are derived to estimate the average harm per collision. Finally, statistics on the average harm per occupant are obtained from the 1994 and 1995 Crashworthiness Data System crash databases.

Najm, Wassim G., daSilva, Marco P., Wiacek, Christopher J.

Human Factors Analysis of Naval Transport Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Line Related Incidents

1999-01-298108/10/1999

To study maintainer error, the Naval Safety Center’s Human Factors Accident Classification System (HFACS) was adapted for Maintenance Related Mishaps (MRMs). The HFACS Maintenance Extension (ME) successfully profiled the errors present Naval Aviation Class A MRMs. In order to assess its suitability for studying major and minor airline accidents, a post hoc analysis was conducted on 124 Naval Fleet Logistics Support (VR) Wing maintenance related mishap, hazard, and injury reports. Two judges separately coded the 124 VR Wing incidents; a Cohen’s kappa of .78 was achieved, indicating an “excellent” level of agreement. Generally, HFACS-ME was able to profile maintainer errors found in more minor incidents and the factors that contribute to them. Common factors observed include errors attributed to third party maintenance, inadequate supervision, failed communications, skill-based errors, and procedural violations.

Schmidt, John K., Figlock, Robert C., Teeters, Curtis D.

Emergency Response Personnel Training for Aircraft Accidents

1999-01-145004/13/1999

A new Aircraft Accident Awareness Program (AAAP) was developed, evaluated, and is available to emergency response service provider organizations (firefighters, emergency medical technicians, trauma center personnel, law enforcement, clergy, coroners, and media) who would be called to an aircraft accident scene. Aircraft accident responder training is a critical factor in accident victim crash survivability and successful life-safety outcomes. This program was designed to teach participants about the unique conditions and safety hazards associated with aircraft crashes. A blend of academic classroom investigation, exposure to airworthy/ unairworthy aircraft including operating systems and components, computer accident simulations, “hands-on” (destructive) extrication protocol training, and participation in simulated in-the-field accident scenarios was used as an instructional delivery model.

Geibel, William D.

Safety of a Downsized Vehicle Fleet: Effects of Mass Distribution, Impact Speed and Inherent Protection in Car-To-Car Crashes

1999-01-007403/01/1999

Vehicle fleet downsizing has been discussed in Europe as an aspect to reduce fuel emissions. A recently developed mathematical model was used to study the individual effects of fleet mass distribution, impact speed reductions and inherent vehicle protection on average injury and fatality rates for downsized fleets. A baseline fleet of 700-2000 kg was downsized by a) reducing all vehicle masses by 10% or 20% and b) by removing all cars heavier than 1400 or 1200 kg. The results showed that the safety can be maintained if the vehicle masses are reduced proportionally to their original mass. A higher safety level can be achieved by removing the heavier vehicles. Traffic safety can be further enhanced by impact speed reductions or by improvements of restraint systems and vehicle compatibility. The safety level would rise more by implementation of radar-activated brakes or controlling city speed limits than by intensified highway patrols, to eliminate crashes with impact speeds over 140 mph

Jewkes, Dagmar Buzeman, Lövsund, Per, Viano, David C.

Communication Skills Development: Practical Implications for a Culture of Safety in Aviation Maintenance

98311311/09/1998

The negative consequences of unsafe behaviors on the job heavily contribute to the rising costs of doing business in terms of both organization dollars and diminished human quality of life. Developing a safety culture provides a positive proactive approach toward creating a working environment where safety is a top priority. An integral part of accomplishing this task is directly related to training individuals on how the interactions that occur among organizational members and the messages their behaviors send influence others' behaviors. This can be best addressed through communication skill development initiatives including mutual responsibility, trust, avoiding punitive strategies and facilitating assertiveness.

Armentrout, Christy, Mattson, Marifran

A Comparative Study of the Effects of Social Stress on the Decision-Making Process of Male and Female Airline Pilots

98123104/06/1998

Pilot judgement and decision-making ability are critical components of the safety of the air transportation system. Although pilot judgement and decision-making has been identified as significant recurring causal factors in air transportation accidents, and the trend toward non-gender specific occupations has resulted in an increase in the level of female participation in the predominantly male pilot population, only a minimal amount of research has been conducted to explore the significance of gender in aeronautical decision-making. A survey instrument was distributed to a representative sample of male and female airline pilots to obtain data to measure the influence of social stress in fostering biased decision-making in the air carrier environment. The research concluded that certain significant differences do exist with regard to gender in determining susceptibility to the influence of social stress in aeronautical decision-making.

Singleton, Billy J.

The Risk and Benefits of Airbag Systems: Are They Needlessly Killing and Injuring Motorists?

97049202/24/1997

This paper reviews the literature regarding injuries and fatalities in frontal accidents in vehicles equipped with air bag systems. An analysis is presented of the nature of fatal injuries attributable to airbag deployment, which accounts for the age, sex, and accident modality. Injury analysis is reviewed in the same fashion. Airbag-induced injuries appear to relate to the proximity of the motorist to the unit when it inflates. Suggestions have been made to modify seat belt systems, the ergonomics of the driver's position and the design of the airbag units to minimize deployment injury.

Coben, Larry E.

Realistic Training Issues “Weather or not You're going to Fly!”

94213010/01/1994

Hwoschinsky, Peter V.

Emergency Response-Ability, People Training Technology and Cost/Benefits

93259709/01/1993

Safety and emergency training traditionally focus on strengthening human (operator) skills and error prevention behaviors to reduce accident and incident rates. However, even with the best of training, emergencies still happen! This paper suggests people training technologies, i.e. human factors, critical action performance, stress management, are required to enhance an individual's “emergency response-ability,” or the ability to properly respond to the emergency when it happens. Four interactive questions are addressed regarding people training technologies or the “human side” of safety and emergency training: 1) who is to be trained; 2) what is to be trained; 3) how is the training to be accomplished; and, 4) what are the cost/benefits of the training?

Altman, H. Beaulieu, Adamski, Anthony J.

Professional Standards, Cockpit Resource Management and Accident, Prevention

90199609/01/1990

The role of Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) in enhancing flight safety is being increasingly recognized throughout the aviation industry. At the same time, pilot Professional Standards Committees (PSC) are also being acknowledged as having a definite place, along with Cockpit Resource Management, in aircraft accident prevention. This paper examines the similarities and differences between CRM and PSC as well as their relationship to each other in positively affecting flight safety. CRM is generally defined as a flight crew-coordinated team effort that uses all means available to enhance safe flight crew operations. Resources here includes all elements, both in and out of the cockpit, that reinforce the crew's ability to function as a team while they cope with various real-life situations. Management skills include the ability to lead and to follow, to effectively communicate within the cockpit and outside it, to gather and evaluate information, to assess and assign crew member task

McIntyre, James A.

U.S. Army Human-Error-Related Data Bases

87250701/01/1987

Human error has been shown to be a major factor influencing U.S. Army aviation and ground safety. This paper reviews human-error-related Army aviation mishap data and trends. It also describes the Army data bases related to safety issues, providing information on the data contents, access, capabilities and applications. Additionally, the paper discusses current Army initiatives toward resolution of human error safety problems.

McGehee, M. Bruce, Armstrong, Richard N., Hicks, James E.

Cycle and Light-Powered Two-Wheeler Accidents

85613201/01/1985

A summary of a report published by the European Experimental Vehicles Committee which outlines motorcycle, bicycle and two-wheeler accidents statistics, injuries, fatalities and test procedures is presented. Interaction between automobiles, buses or trucks and two-wheeled vehicles is outlined. Vehicle test methods and accident prevention procedures are covered.

Values as a Human Factor in Assessing the Risks of Pleasure Flying

84146910/01/1984

Recent accident data has raised issues concerning the risks involved in pleasure flying. Data analysis indicates that pilot's values and risk taking behaviors are major contributing factors. Trends in aviation costs and litigation constitute a crisis that requires a redefinition of the concept of “accident” and improved accident prevention measures.

Conroy, William J.

Pilot Incapacitation Revisited

84161410/01/1984

Pilot incapacitation can occur among all age groups. It can be obvious or subtle; temporary or permanent; and partial or complete. Its origin can be physiological or psychological or both. Its inherent risk to aviation safety can be virtually eliminated in a multi-crew operation. Control of the operational consequences of pilot incapacitation is both a traditional aeromedical problem and a training problem. Despite very considerable progress, the importance of its training aspects are not always recognized. Controlling “cognitive” incapacitation is the newest challenge.

Orlady, Harry W.

Off-Highway Vehicle Accidents and Operator Training

80094509/01/1980

Detailed investigations were made of 47 severe or fatal injuries involving off-highway vehicles. Lack of recognition by the operator of vehicle limitations and hazardous operating conditions was found to be a major contributing factor in each instance. Formal training of operators in hazard recognition and control is proposed as a means of reducing accident frequency and severity.

Accident Investigations - A Case for New Perceptions and Methodologies

80038702/01/1980

At least 5 different perceptions of the accident phenomenon, 44 different reasons for investigating accidents, 7 investigative processes, 6 general methodologies, and 3 differing types of output requirements affect accident investigations. These differences reflect the lack of a unifying conceptual framework for accident investigation and safety; corrupt data search, selection, organization and reporting decisions during investigations; and result in spurious accident data. A tentative unifying perception of accident phenomena, with supporting assumptions, principles and rules of procedure for their investigation was synthesized from the findings. Four games simulating the resultant accident investigation process have been developed. The process has been applied to improve hazardous materials emergency response decision making, and evaluation of safety countermeasures.

General Aviation Crash Survivability

78001702/01/1978

Statistics indicate that during the past decade (1967-1976) the number of general aviation aircraft involved in an accident is equivalent to at least 38% of the total U.S. production during that period. Estimates that an aircraft will be involved in an accident over a 20 year life range are as high as 60-70%. Recognition of this probability has led to crashworthiness and occupant survivability “packaging” design concepts as offering the most realistic approach to reduction of serious and fatal injuries when an accident occurs. This paper reviews and illustrates current general aviation aircraft accident experience relative to occupant impact injury and damage indexes, and provides new data relative to current-generation aircraft. Results clearly indicate that when the cabin structure remains relatively intact, the occupant is adequately restrained in an energy-absorbing seat system, the interior structures are designed to distribute loads and absorb energy, and the impact forces

Snyder, Richard G.

Investigations of the Relationship Between Active Safety and Accident Prevention

78504601/01/1978

Driver error is the cause of most accidents. Yet "active safety" is difficult to analyze due to the complexity of the processes involved and no unanimity of analytical procedures exists. The purpose of the paper is to determine the investigatory steps necessary for any complete analysis of active safety. These steps are discussed individually and they include: 1. Analytical treatment within the parameters of the driver-vehicle-surroundings system; the multiplicity of such treatments suggests that no one approach is universally valid. 2. Investigations of driver behavior and vehicle response in driving simulators; such simulators offer the possibility of reproducible, experimental data. 3. Determination of driver reaction and vehicle response to driving incidents involving artificially-induced danger and surprise; such tests can safely be conducted on driving courses. 4. Reconstruction and evaluation of traffic accidents through use of questionnaires; Daimler-Benz has already made use

Biomechanics of Real Child Pedestrian Accidents

76081402/01/1976

An optimisation of the vehicle exterior with regard to the pedestrian accident is only sensible with a view of the main groups of pedestrians. Contrary to dummy tests, of which advantages as well as disadvantages are sufficiently known, the correlation of dummy versus living human body versus dead tissue is eliminated in the analysis of real accidents, but gets extended by the parameter of age. Compared with laboratory tests, this method suffers from the disadvantage of middle errors in the estimated initial data, for instance the collision speed of the vehicle, which vary with every accident. Based on 230 medically and technically thoroughly worked out single-case analyses of real pedestrian accidents, including 128 accidents involving children, the influence of various parameters of vehicles and traffic participants on kinematics, injury mechanisms, and traumatising of the pedestrian accident are outlined. The main effort lies in the analysis of the biggest main-group--the child

Sturtz, G., Suren, E. G., Gotzen, L., Behrens, S., Richter, K.

A Critical Analysis of Traffic Accident Data

75091602/01/1975

General agreement exists that the ultimate goals of traffic accident research are to reduce fatality, mitigate injury and decrease economic loss to society. Although massive quantities of data have been collected in local, national and international programs, attempts by analysts to use these data to explore ideas or support hypotheses have been met by a variety of problems. Specifically, the coded variables in the different files are not consistent and little information on accident etiology is collected. Examples of the inadequacies of present data in terms of the collected and coded variables are shown. The vehicular, environmental and human (consisting of human factors and injury factors) variables are disproportionately represented in most existing data files in terms of recognized statistical evidence of accident causation. A systems approach is needed to identify critical, currently neglected variables and develop units of measurement and data collection procedures. The systems

Cromack, J. Robert, Barnwell, George M.

Crashworthiness Investigation of General Aviation Accidents

75053702/01/1975

General aviation accident investigations can provide valuable data to the design engineer concerning the crash performance of current models and can indicate needed improvements for occupant protection in future aircraft. Current statistics and the historical background of major investigations during the past 65 years are provided. A five-year study of general aviation accidents occurring in the State of Michigan is used as a basis to illustrate recent findings relative to occupant injury mechanisms, relative crash protection, and crashworthiness performance of current models of aircraft. Results indicate that the degree of structural damage may not relate to the degree of occupant injury when the cabin area remains relatively intact. A primary requirement is documented for adequate upper-torso restraint for all occupants, and the excellent crash performance of such a system is described. Relationships of injuries to structural components are shown, and examples of good fuselage

Snyder, Richard G.

Large and Small Car Accident Performance: A Large Scale Accident Data Base Analysis

75011302/01/1975

New York State's development of a system for examining the relationship between vehicle design and traffic crash incidence and injury severity made possible a study of the relationship between small car and large car accident performance. Accident involved vehicles were studied using such variables as make, model year, shipping weight, horsepower, and accident data such as impact area, road conditions, and seat belt use. Considering these and other variables, occupants of the smaller cars experienced higher rates of injury severity in crashes than occupants of larger cars.

Scott, Basil Y.

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